Dubbing itself the "multimedia powerhouse" for T-Mobiles expansive Android lineup, the Samsung Behold II has just been confirmed for that rumored November 18th launch on T-Mobile (still no word on price, though were hearing a predictable $200). The slate-style touchscreen handset has a 3.2-inch AMOLED display, and puts it to good use with a hearty skinning job on the part of Samsung, porting in most (but not all) of its TouchWiz UI -- unfortunately for us, that silly cube menu made the cut. Underneath is Android 1.5, and what seems to be a pretty standard processor.Hardware-wise theres really nothing to complain about on this phone. Its heavy, relatively thin (not iPhone-thin, but just fine), with solid materials and wonderfully tactile face buttons. The screen is everything youd expect out of an AMOLED display, though high-resolution phones like the Droid dampen that enthusiasm somewhat. One wonderful Samsung addition to the traditional Android experience is a "real" camera button on the side, which can even register half-presses for focus. For someone who doesnt want a physical keyboard, but doesnt want their handset to feel like a toy (sorry, myTouch) theres plenty to love. However, were more concerned about the software side of things. Were not morally opposed to Samsung adding in TouchWiz, but we are afraid of anything that has the potential to slow down the OS, and on first glance wed say its notably less responsive than stock Android. Well of course be going further in-depth to see just how usable this iteration is, but let us just put this out on the table: a virtual 3D cube to launch media apps is no way "intuitive," "helpful" or "cool." OK, maybe its kind of cool, but seriously Samsung, stop it. Check out our unboxing below.
Update: We added some video after the break. Behold the cube!
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